[Ed the Fish]

I visited the T-Mobile corporate store in Santa Clara (3936 Rivermark Plaza) yesterday to upgrade my existing Blackberry 7230 to the new Curve. They had both colors in stock, but they wouldn't sell me one because they were for "new customers only."

Has anyone else run into this?

[dooks88]

Originally Posted by Ed the Fish

I visited the T-Mobile corporate store in Santa Clara (3936 Rivermark Plaza) yesterday to upgrade my existing Blackberry 7230 to the new Curve. They had both colors in stock, but they wouldn't sell me one because they were for "new customers only."

Has anyone else run into this?

Try another store. Some stores are like that for some reason. You may have better luck somewhere else.

[jeremyckitching]

I have heard of this before. Some stores will only sell to new customers and use these devices to lure them in. Like above, try another store.

[quizkid]

Corporate stores make higher commissions on new line activations. The manager of that store is only thinking of the $$$. That manager sounds like a bunghole.

[pinetreerr]

Why not just call T-Mobile custoemr service? -- they will handle the upgrade and send it right out to you, even just charging your account.

[canesfins]

The store I went to Monday initially told me that was the postition of the manager of that store, then another rep came from behind that used to work at the call center and said that regardless of what the manager said that they could do upgrades and she did mine.

[Kidberry]

Sprint/Nextel does this too. I had one store call another to check on their stock. I arrived at store and they said they didn't have stock. An employee told me that they didn't want to sell a new phone to an existing customer. The employee told me a district manager would be coming to visit store "tomorrow". I made that appointment and I got my phone! The Sprint Yellow turned red of embarassment...

[flar]

Is the manager allowed to set policy like that? I got that same story from a couple of stores on the Friday and Saturday before it was released, but they were saying it was because they didn't have upgrade pricing listed in their system yet so I took their word on it.

In either case I would at least mention to customer care when you call them to buy the upgrade that a local store refused to sell the phone as an upgrade so that they can note it if it is a violation of their corporate store policies.

I've been in the Rivermark store a few times and gotten a creepy feeling a couple of times - now I guess I know why...

[wu-wei]

That would really piss me off. It is asinine to deny a sale - especially to an existing customer.

Follow your silly little baiting 'new line activation' specials all you want, but to outright deny a sale? Asinine.